Syria accuses U.S.-led airstrikes of killing three soldiers

Russian warplanes, meanwhile, have been striking targets across Syria since late September, alongside the Syrian air force – although the USA military says the Russian strikes mostly target opposition rebels and not the Islamic State.

Any such strike by U.S.-led coalition planes, which have been focusing their fire on Islamic State militants, would further complicate an increasingly regional conflict now almost five years old.

A Syrian military source gave the same toll, and said the attack late Sunday hit several buildings used as weapons depots and an army training camp, damaging two tanks.

The coalition has been bombarding the Islamic State group for more than a year in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where the jihadists have declared a self-styled caliphate.

Syria’s government on Monday accused the U.S.-led coalition of launching airstrikes on an army camp that killed three soldiers and wounded 13, which if confirmed would mark the first time U.S.-led forces have struck troops loyal to President Bashar Assad.

The US-led coalition has focused primarily on disrupting the IS group’s oil income, stepping up airstrikes in recent weeks on oil fields and facilities.

Israel also occasionally carries out strikes against Syrian military facilities to prevent the transfer of weaponry to Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia that is an ally of the Assad government, and Turkey has conducted a handful of strikes against Islamic State militants.

He said the coalition’s only strikes in Deir Ezzor on Sunday were some 55km away from the area where the troops were allegedly killed.

The number of civilian casualties from the US-led campaign in Syria is likely as the Pentagon reviews its rules of engagement, which have been created to keep them to a minimum. The US special presidential envoy to the coalition, Brett McGurk, denied the claims, however, saying there had been no strikes within 55km (34 miles) of the base. “But Daesh is only present on the outskirts of the town, which is why all of the deaths were civilians”, Abdel Rahman said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

In Deir Ezzor city, another air strike believed to be carried out by the coalition killed a woman and two of her children, the Observatory said.

“In general, these cases indicate that the situation in the areas of fighting with so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is heating up”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian air force also carried out strikes in the province of Deir al-Zour overnight Sunday, Warren said, speaking from Baghdad.

Lt. Col. Kristi Beckman, director of public affairs at the Combined Air Operations Center at al-Udeid air base in Qatar, said there was no indication that the coalition had killed Syrian troops.

The strikes “confirm once again that the American coalition lacks the seriousness and trust (needed) to fight terrorism in an effective way”, it said.